SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE January 28, 1993 9:13 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Randy Phillips, Chairman Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chairman Senator Al Adams MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Rick Halford Senator Fred Zharoff COMMITTEE CALENDAR SENATE BILL NO. 26 "An Act relating to the location of the convening of the legislature in regular session; and providing for an effective date." PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION SB 26 - No previous action to record. WITNESS REGISTER Chip Wagoner 3294 Pioneer Ave. Juneau, AK 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26 Anne Williams, Legislative Officer Municipality of Anchorage 3001 C St. Anchorage, AK POSITION STATEMENT: Offered information on SB 26 Dale Anderson 9040 Glacier Hwy. Juneau, AK 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26 Clark Gruening 217 Second St., Suite 204 Juneau, AK 99801 POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed to SB 26 ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 93-2, SIDE A Number 001 The Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee was called to order by Chairman Randy Phillips at 9:13 a.m. Number 010 CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS introduced SB 26 (LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS TO BE IN ANCHORAGE) as the only order of business. He said public testimony would be taken from the Juneau teleconference site only, with the Anchorage and Fairbanks teleconference sites in a listen-only mode. Testimony from other areas of the state will be taken next week. Number 023 As prime sponsor of the legislation, CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS, stated and emphasized for the record that basically, SB 26 moves only the legislature from Juneau to Anchorage. The main motivation behind the bill is to provide access to the legislature for 75 percent of the people of the State of Alaska. Number 040 CHIP WAGONER, District Chairman for District 3 of the Republican Party, stated that in testifying he was representing himself. Mr. Wagoner took issue with an article that appeared in the January 5, 1993 edition of the Juneau Empire, which inferred that SB 26, as well as some other pieces of legislation, was a "GOP bill." He said as chairman of the local Republican Party, he could attest to the fact that it was not a GOP bill, but rather an individual bill sponsored by an individual legislator. Mr. Wagoner said access was not the real issue, but he thinks the reason why some people up north may support moving the legislature is because of a frustration with the legislature. In his opinion, SB 26 is a companion with term limitations, limiting the legislative sessions, etc. He said it is a manifestation of the voters discontent and frustration, and the bill will not solve that. He suggested the solution is in the legislature's own house. Mr. Wagoner stated SB 26 should be defeated, and he urged Senator Taylor, as a Southeastern Alaska senator, to help its defeat. Number 095 ANNE WILLIAMS, Legislative Officer for the Municipality of Anchorage, stated Senator Randy Phillips' office requested that she testify on whether the Municipality of Anchorage could float bonds to support a move of the legislature. She spoke to their chief fiscal officer and was told that they could float revenue bonds, assuming the state has good credit, the criteria, etc. Ms. Williams noted that she had also talked to the mayor of Anchorage and was told that the Municipality of Anchorage does not have a position on the bill, that they are neutral. However, should the legislature choose to move the legislature to Anchorage, the mayor would support floating revenue bonds, which would also require assembly approval. Number 110 DALE ANDERSON, representing himself, said most everybody likes stability, but SB 26 does not create stability for the State of Alaska. Economically, it will not stand the scrutiny of Alaskans. Mr. Anderson said the legislature cannot operate without daily input of the executive branch and vise versa. He said if economics and a savings of state dollars is a foundation for SB 26, to contemplate the cost of travel, housing, per diem for of all of commissioners, deputy commissioners, directors and their staff members to travel to Anchorage. He added that in this time of declining state revenues, it is critical to stop wasting state dollars on issues such as this. Mr. Anderson observed that in the last capital move vote, Alaskans decided in an overwhelming vote that the capital remain in Juneau, and Juneau housing the legislature and the executive branch was part and parcel of that decision. He said there is no question that Juneau's economy is dependent on state government, and he urged that Juneau not be placed on the chopping block. Concluding his comments, Mr. Anderson urged a "no" vote on SB 26. Number 180 CLARK GRUENING, lobbyist for the City and Borough of Juneau, said when he first ran for the legislature in Anchorage in 1974, the capital move was an issue on the ballot. His sense was that while the voters in Anchorage did overwhelming approve a move at that time, they also understood that the cost relative to other priorities probably made this an issue less important than some of the other things that were more immediate. He said if we're going to back to this divisive issue, it is a decision that should be made in the full light of the cost of the move. Mr. Gruening stated that there is probably nobody in Juneau that believes that this bill is anything than the first step to a full capital move, and he urged that a full cost analysis be prepared on such a move. Mr. Gruening urged that SB 26 not be moved out of committee. Number 222 CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS stated he has sent out questionnaires for the past 17 years, and the figures he has, as of today, was 82 percent favor moving the legislature from Juneau to Anchorage. He said four out of five people in his district want this access and that is the main motivation behind this legislation. He reiterated that it is only moving the legislature. Chairman Randy Phillips also said that from his perspective, the commissioners, the deputy commissioners, and supporting staff can utilize the teleconference system just like constituents do. The Chairman assured those present it was his intent that before the bill moves out of committee, the committee would be examining all the fiscal notes and getting all the information on the table, as well as taking further public testimony from other parts of the state. Number 246 CLARK GRUENING added that he hopes that the bill does not discourage legislative efforts to look at other ways to improve the communication between the legislative body and the public. He mentioned two-way video teleconferencing is being looked at, and he encouraged that the legislature continue to hold hearings in areas where people have interest in a particular issue. CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS responded that the constituents are saying that that is not enough. Number 267 SENATOR ADAMS asked Chairman Randy Phillips if Senator Taylor, or Senator Zharoff, or himself did a questionnaire in their particular districts and they have more than 82 percent that oppose moving the legislature, would he accept a motion to table his bill at this time. CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS responded that he would have to consider that when the time comes. CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS stated that SB 26 would probably be back before the committee on Thursday, February 4. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:32 a.m.